“So yes, it is possible for a front-running team to make up the deficit.
If it’s the same as their situation, I don’t know.
“There are always strengths and weaknesses, and then it’s about how many
of each, but it’s not the place we’d like to be at the start of a year.
“For us, a lot has changed over the winter with the car, and for most of
the teams that’s not been the case. They have developed what they had last
season. We just took a very different approach.
“At this moment in time, obviously we’re not as happy as we were hoping
to be, but it’s only the first race and there’s so much we can achieve.”
For Perez, throughout the winter the Mexican proclaimed his belief he could
become world champion this season after joining McLaren.
Instead, at Melbourne’s Albert Park over the weekend, the 23-year-old found
himself fighting in the midfield with the likes of Sauber, the team he left
at the end of last season.
Perez, however, is aware of McLaren’s strengths and how quickly they can
prosper from a position of despair.
Perez said: “If there is one team capable of getting out of these tricky
conditions we have at the moment then it’s McLaren.
“I fully believe in McLaren, and what is encouraging for me is I see the
people working flat out.
“I know we are going to come out of this situation sooner rather than
later.”